


Off the Road

by Alley_Cat



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-07
Updated: 2012-06-07
Packaged: 2017-11-07 04:07:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/426760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alley_Cat/pseuds/Alley_Cat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taking a turn off the road could get you lost, force you to make a detour you haven't prepared for, or it could land you in a lot of trouble. Sometimes, however , off the road is where forever awaits. </p>
<p>Bella Swan took a turn off the road and found more than just a myth, she found her destiny.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Off the Road

**Author's Note:**

> This story contains explicit descriptions of sex. Hell, you could probably say that this is just one big fat lemon. So, if you're under eighteen, hit that "back" button right now. I can't stop you, of course, but don't blame me for corrupting your young mind after you read this. Everyone else, please enjoy yourselves.

It always amused me to drive by the city of Forks. I hadn't done it very often. In fact, this was only the third time I had done so since I had heard that such a place even exists. The first time I had driven by the city was six months ago, and it was mostly because I got lost and made a wrong turn somewhere on my way to Seattle. I ended up taking a very large detour and spent the night at a motel in Port Angeles.

It was only much later that I had found out about the stories surrounding the city.

As I drove, I thought about the day six months ago, that I had made the decision to move from the small town of Ashland to the big city of Seattle. It had actually been a very easy decision to make. I had no family or friends tying me to Wisconsin. I held two jobs – one at the local coffee shop and the other as a night clerk at the local motel – they paid the bills but that was about the best thing I could say about them.

I had been on my own since I was eighteen.

I had finished high school two years before that and had dedicated the free time I had to work and save money for college. The day I turned eighteen was the day I had moved out of my mother's house and into the college dorms.

Three years later, with a bachelor's degree under my belt, I moved to my very first apartment. I chose Ashland randomly. I had no desire to go back to my mother's and I didn't feel like being swallowed by the big city just yet.

I called my mother after graduation and learned that my little sister had just left for college herself – she chose to go to England, after receiving a full scholarship – and that my mother was in the process of selling her own house and moving back to Italy.

I didn't have a place to go back to even if I had wanted to.

I understood them both. My mother missed her family – all of which still lived in Italy – and with very little money in the family, a full scholarship was a great deal for my sister.

I hadn't been in contact with my father for years. The last I had heard of him was from a distant relative who told me that he had remarried and had a son.

I was happy for him. My father had always wanted a son, but only got daughters from my mother.

So I left my dorm room and moved to the tiny apartment in Ashland.

Two years later, at twenty-three, I got a call from Seattle with a job offer. They had read several of my articles online and asked if I would be interested in working for them. The salary they had offered was not very high, but it was a great improvement from the two lousy jobs I had at that moment, and writing was a great deal less tiring than waiting tables or working night shifts.

That was how I got to Forks for the first time. I didn't have a GPS in my car and apparently, my sense of direction left much to be desired.

The second time I had made the trip – it was deliberate, to see if the beautiful scenery road had really existed.

This was the third time I would be driving by Forks. I loved the greenery around me. Call me crazy, but I loved the gray weather and the rain. My mother had always attributed that to me being born in the fall.

I passed Port Angeles and knew that I had about two hours left until I would be in Forks. It was still fairly early in the day, but the sky was already darkening and I knew that I should be expecting rain to start falling soon. I decided that I would push myself a little and make a stop in Forks rather than in Port Angeles, so I drove straight through the city and let my thoughts drift.

After arriving in Seattle, a day late due to the unexpected detour, and settling into my new apartment, I went online. I had found the website for the city of Forks easily enough, but it was the third link on the list of search results that had surprised me. It led to a website dedicated to a book that was recently published.

It wasn't the name of the book – _Forever Dawn_ – that had caught my attention, nor the fact that its plot was centered in Forks. It was the name of the main character. Bella Swan.

It was _my_ name!

At first, I thought I had made a mistake, that or that the website had gotten it wrong. The next day I went out and bought the book. It wasn't a mistake. Isabella Swan was in fact the name of the character. No one was pulling my leg.

I called my mother next. She had a great time laughing at my expense.

"Relax, Bella. You simply have a common name. That is all." She told me.

"But the last name too?"

"Swan isn't that rare, honey." She said with another chuckle.

We exchanged several more pleasantries before hanging up, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I decided that I had nothing to lose and started reading the book. I was both curious and afraid of what might be written there. When I could find no more similarities to myself or to any events in my life, I relaxed. I didn't know anyone by the name of Edward Cullen or Jacob Black, and obviously, vampires were nothing more than myth.

During the next six months, the book became very famous and people were always amused when they heard my name. They thought that I had changed my name because I was a fan of the book. I huffed.

I looked nothing like the girl in the books. I was older than her – twenty-three and not seventeen. I had light brown hair and my eyes were green. More than that, I wasn't even remotely clumsy. My father's name wasn't Charlie and my mother wasn't a Renée in neither name nor character. In fact, the further I read into the book, the more relaxed I became – the only thing I had in common with the book was my name.

*.*

I arrived at the motel in Forks a little after seven. The clerk looked at my ID three times, rolling his eyes and muttering the whole time, before giving me the room key. I asked him what the matter was and was told that ever since _Forever Dawn_ was published, the city of Forks had been flooded with attention and not everyone liked it. He was one of those who didn't. I thanked him and made my way to the room, eager to rid myself of his unpleasant company.

The room was small but clean. I took a shower and changed out of the clothes that I had spent the day wearing. I ate dinner in a small restaurant just across the street from the inn and went back to my room. It was still early, only half past nine, but I had decided to call it a night. I would rather get up a little earlier than try and find something to occupy myself with for several more hours.

Morning came accompanied by more clouds and rain. I smiled as I walked out of my room and got inside my car.

I drove down the highway with my windows rolled down. The rain had stopped and although it was still gray and the air was moist, there was nothing that could beat the scent of the forest just after the rain, at least not in my book.

About forty miles south of Forks, just as the highway curved away from the ocean inland, I felt a sudden impulse to turn off the road. There was a narrow path to my left and I decided to take it. I drove another mile or two until I saw a small clearing to my right. The road continued on but I felt no desire to continued driving.

I parked my car next to the fallen tree that had marked the edge of the forest and cut off the engine. I watched the beautiful scenery around me and decided that I could spare an hour or two for a walk inside the Olympic National Park. I had passed it twice already and didn't stop, so why waste the opportunity for the third time?

I locked my car, taking only a bottle of water with me, leaving my purse in the trunk, and made my way down one of the trails leading away from the small clearing. I inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the forest and sighed happily.

I didn't venture too far in and stayed on the trail, aware of the fact that getting lost wasn't really on my agenda today. I found a small waterfall and sat on a boulder next to it. It was very peaceful. The sounds of the forest filled my ears; the distant birds singing, the rustle of leaves in the wind and the soft trickle of water.

It was as close to paradise as I had imagined possible.

I had no idea how long I sat there, listening to the forest, before I started feeling as though I was being watched. I looked around me but could find no one. The forest was empty and quiet. _A little too quiet_ , I thought when I realized that I could no longer hear birds singing.

A rustle of leaves on my right had startled me and I jumped to my feet. There was nothing there. I tried taking several deep breaths and started chanting in my head, _it's just your imagination, there's no one there. It's just your imagination._

Another rustling noise, this time from my left, was the last straw. I reached inside my pocket and took out my key chain, holding the long car key between my fingers as I clenched my fist around the rest of the keys. It was my only weapon against whoever or whatever was in the forest.

_Stupid Bella!_ I chastised myself. What on earth had prompted me to take a bloody walk inside the forest?

I grew less and less confident as I heard more noises around me and finally decided that the best thing for me to do would be to get the hell out of Dodge. I turned on my heels and began walking quickly in the direction of my car.

_If I could just get to my car…_

My quick walk turned into a run when I heard a twig snap behind me. It was more than likely that I was the one who stepped on it, but in my panicked state, I couldn't allow myself to rely on that possibility. I was in good shape, I was wearing sneakers and I knew that I shouldn't have a problem reaching my car quickly, so I broke into a run.

I could see the trees thinning out and the glimpse of the silver color of my car had shown through. _Just a little further…_ I thought, breathing heavily as I pushed myself to run faster. My eyes fixed on my target – my car, my safe haven.

I should have remembered that running without looking down was _not_ a good idea. I tripped over a tree root and my body went flying to the ground. I landed hard, my knee hitting a hidden rock in the forest ground. I hissed in pain as I pulled myself back onto my knees. I tried to brush the dirt off of my palms but my left wrist ached in protest, I looked at it so see that I had blood and dirt on the inside of my arm. _Great_.

I stood up slowly, wincing as I put weight on my bruised knee. A voice coming from behind me made me jump in my place and hiss again when my knee protested against the sudden jolt.

"Are you all right, Miss?"

I found myself staring at the face of an angel. I shook my head to rid myself of the ridiculous thought and focused my eyes on the man before me. He was tall and his skin was pale. His hair was so fair that it almost seemed white rather than blonde. His eyes were the most amazing color of cobalt blue I had ever seen.

In fact, once I took in the whole sight of him, dressed all in black – a long sleeved sweater that looked way too thin for the current weather and a pair of black slacks that hugged his figure snugly – I realized that angel wasn't quite the right term, he was a sex god. Way too handsome for his own good.

He was looking at me with curiosity in his eyes and it was then that I remembered that he had asked me a question that I had yet to answer.

"Yeah…Yes, I'm fine." I stuttered. "Thank you." I gave him a small smile and mentally slapped myself for ogling him as though I was on a diet and he was a three-layered strawberry shortcake. _Hey, it's not my fault that he looks good enough to eat!_ My sub-conscience retorted.

"Are you sure?" His soft voice caressed every nerve ending in my body, making me feel weak in the knees. "That was quite a fall."

I nodded, not trusting myself not to blurt out something really embarrassing like 'I want to eat you' if I dared open my mouth.

"Are you lost?" He asked, his eyes focused on mine and I found that I couldn't look away, nor did I want to. I shook my head to indicate that I wasn't.

"My name is Carlisle." The man said. The name sounded oddly familiar, but with his intense blue gaze directed at me, my thoughts were too scattered to even try and come up with an explanation for the familiarity of his name.

"Bella." I managed to croak out and instantly blushed at the hoarse sound of my own voice, especially when compared to the softness of his. _At least you didn't say 'Can I have you for breakfast'_ , my sub-conscience tried to encourage me.

"Are you from around here, Bella?"

I thought about avoiding answering the question, or maybe lying, but heard myself blurting out the truth without even meaning to. "No. I had just recently moved to Seattle." _Yup it's confirmed, no brain-to-mouth filter whatsoever._

"Did you drive here?"

I nodded. There was really no other way to come here and the keys I was still clutching in my right hand were evidence enough. Plus, I had already established the fact that I had no filter when speaking to him.

Despite the circumstance, he didn't seem threatening to me. In fact, there was something about him that calmed my panic down and made me feel oddly safe in his presence. My heart was still beating franticly, but that probably had more to do with the beauty of the man before me, than with the fear that had gripped me previously.

He stretched his hand out to me and smiled. _Holy crow, this should be illegal!_ The smile had made him even more breathtaking. It was only a light curve of his full lips, but the hint of dimples in his cheeks was my undoing. "May I escort you to your car?"

"You can take me anywhere you like _._ " _Shit, Did I just say that out loud?_

*.*

That night my sleep was haunted by a pair of beautiful blue eyes. They were everywhere, watching me with such intensity that they took over my entire dream. I twisted and turned in my bed, waking up every few hours, sweating. Suddenly the room felt too hot, too stuffed and my breathing too heavy.

The blue-eyed man, Carlisle, had an icy touch but his hands had the softest skin I had ever sensed. In my dreams, he was touching me again, on my forehead, on my shoulder, whispering unintelligible words in my ears. They weren't nightmares, although one might call them such, they were just… weird. The dreams might not have been unpleasant but when I woke up the next morning, I felt exhausted.

I went to the small bathroom and took a cold shower. My skin was so overheated from sleep that I didn't even bother opening the hot water tap. The towels were as to be expected from a motel – small and somewhat scrubby – but they would have to do.

I looked up at the mirror while brushing my teeth and saw that I had dark circles under my eyes and that my skin looked even paler than was usual for me. My night's sleep must have been even worse than I thought it to be.

It was only when I was done brushing my teeth that I noticed something odd. It was not morning time at all. In fact, it looked like the middle of the night, judging from the darkness outside. But the darkness didn't bother me. It didn't bother me to a point where I hadn't even turned on the lights in my motel room while I was showering – I didn't need them, I saw perfectly well without them.

I ran to the full-length mirror in the bedroom, still wrapped in my towel, and looked at my face again. My eyes were dark, there was no trace of the green in them, but it could be because I was standing in complete darkness. I reached with my hand to touch my cheeks; they felt normal, no longer warm and not cold.

I tossed the towel aside and got dressed, only bothering to put on one layer of clothes – a t-shirt and a pair of sweat-pants – and walked over to open the window. The wind blowing from the window should have made me freeze, especially considering how little clothes I had on, but it didn't. The caress of the air on my skin was actually pleasant, not cold.

I could smell traces of gasoline in the air, along with burning oil, cotton, plastic, dust, wet soil and something so enticingly sweet that I leaned out the window a bit and took a deep gulp of air. The sweetness had increased considerably and I felt an odd ache in the back of my throat. I must be coming down with a cold.

_And standing undressed with the window open in the middle of October isn't helping._

But I didn't want to close the window. I wanted to find out what it was that smelled so sweet. I examined the view from my window but could see only the parking lot at the back of the motel and the forest not fifteen feet away. There was a man walking to his car just under my window.

The sweet scent was coming from that man. I sniffed again. The smell reminded me of freshly baked bread covered with a thin layer of rich, creamy butter, and fresh strawberries, and ripe melons, and aromatic oranges, all combined together. The smell was mouthwatering.

Whatever it was, I _wanted_ it!

My body was apparently quicker than ever before and I found myself on the ground of the parking lot, landing on the balls of my feet. I didn't think about the fact that I had just jumped out of my second floor window. That was only a minor detail.

I took in another gulp of air.

_So sweet._

I could detect another dozen scents coming from somewhere near me, but the sweetness of that unknown something was overpowering everything. That man had it and I _wanted_ it! I heard a growl coming from deep inside my chest and then my body coiled to spring.

But I never made it to the man. There was a thunder-like sound and something had collided with me, sending me flying to the side and into the trees. My body seemed to have developed some excellent instincts and I landed on my feet again.

I was enraged. Someone was trying to take away the sweet smell.

I growled at whatever it was that had hit me and found myself being sent flying once again, only this time my body had collided with the ground and something hard was pressing me down. It wasn't painful, I noticed, the hard landing should have at least bruised me, but I felt no pain. Actually, what I felt was anger.

"Bella, stop, please. You don't want to do that." A voice, so enticing in its softness, said.

My eyes focused on the man above me. I should have been afraid. I was pinned down by some strange man in the middle of a forest, after all. But the only thing all that I had felt was fury over being denied access to that sweet scent. It was gone. I inhaled again and could detect only the scent of the forest combined with cotton, denim and something more. It was a mixture of lilac, some kind of soap, and… cherries? Peaches? The scent had an elusive quality that I could not decipher.

I was immediately distracted by this new invasion to my senses. I sniffed the air again and realized that the scent was coming from the man, who was looking at me with dark eyes, and that he actually smelled wonderfully. I couldn't find the right words to describe his scent. It reminded me of the way the air smelled in the early morning hours, fresh and invigorating, but the scent was also a little sweet, a bit lemony and had a trace of musk to it.

My anger was forgotten, the thoughts about the mysterious sweetness were pushed aside, my focus shifted to the man. His face was somewhat familiar. He had strong features, hard jaw and full lips that were begging to be kissed, a straight nose and strong forehead all combined to create the most beautiful male my eyes had ever seen. His face was framed with mid-length blond locks. He was breathtaking.

I ignored the words that the man was speaking, they were unimportant. Now that my mind wasn't consumed by the desire to find out what the sweet-smelling object was, it was overcome by this man. I wanted to devour him. I wanted to drown myself in his scent.

A new sound came from my chest. It was vibrating gently and reminded me of a softer version of the growl that I had heard myself make earlier. My wrists were pinned next to my head and his weight was holding me down.

Liquid fire was suddenly flowing through my veins. I was acutely aware of every curve of his body pressing over mine, his broad chest, his long muscular legs, his strong arms… and a distinct hardness growing, pressing into my stomach.

I felt his chest vibrating in the same way mine was, and the same sound was coming from him. It was a purring-like sound, and it was music to my ears. My own purr grew louder and my body moved to rub myself on this man.

_Mine._

His mouth came over mine to place a scorching kiss. He was met with equal eagerness. His taste was so much better than his scent. His lips soft, his tongue strong and his teeth nibbling on my bottom lip drawing a moan from me. We were both still purring loudly.

His hands no longer held my wrists, they were holding my head. I took advantage of the freedom of my hands to learn the texture of his blonde locks and the hardness of his back. He was straddling me and there was no mistake in his desire. He was rock hard against me and I wanted nothing more than to feel him inside me.

I moaned and mewled as he kissed me. His taste, his touch, his smell… it was overpowering. He dropped one hand from my hair to my breasts, cupping the orb of flesh and pinching the hard nipple through the thin fabric of my shirt. I didn't bother with a bra when I pulled the clothes on earlier, and now I was grateful for having fewer layers separating his touch and my skin.

He spread my legs with one knee and I was eager to have him pressed against me as close as possible. As soon as his hardness touched my clothed core, I began to writhe beneath him. My hips bucking into his on their own accord and my back arched to press my aching breasts harder into his caressing hands.

I was burning. I felt as though liquid flames were coursing through my veins and the only one who could put out the fire was the man above me.

"God, Bella, you feel so good." He growled, sending the flames down my body and straight into my core. I didn't know how he could still speak, because I was well beyond forming words. My mind was clouded; desire, lust and need mixing together had rendered me speechless.

I knew the sound of his voice. I knew the touch of his fingers. I knew that I had heard his name before and I felt my very soul touching him. _He_ was _mine_.

Clothes were ripped out of the way – both his and mine – and we both moaned at the first contact of his naked body on mine. I didn't feel the rough forest ground beneath me, it was like a soft blanket as far as I could tell. I only felt his mouth, kissing and nibbling my neck and shoulders, his hands massaging my breasts, tugging at my nipples and his hard cock pressing over my aching wet core. There was only one last layer of fabric, preventing him from completing our union, my underwear. His were torn away from his body about three seconds ago.

I slid my hand between us, desperate to touch him. My fingers wrapped around his cock and I moaned when I felt how thick and hard he was. He hissed in pleasure, his mouth leaving my breast for a moment, when I began pumping my hand over him. His hips bucked into me and his mouth returned to suckling my right breast.

I held his head with my other hand, my back arching into his mouth. My body was begging, loudly, for him to take me.

"I can't wait any longer, my Bella." His words were whispered as his lips moved from my right breast to my left. He opened his mouth wide and took as much as he could from my breast into his mouth. "I need to be inside you." He murmured, his teeth holding my nipple.

"Yes…" I whimpered, my fingers tightening around his cock. His name was suddenly pulled from the fogginess of my memories. "Yes, my Carlisle."

I growled when his mouth suddenly left my breasts and his body moved down my body, leaving me without the feel of his weight. But when his eyes locked with mine, there was nothing but a purr vibrating in my chest.

I watched as he took my panties off using only his teeth. I saw the fire that was raging inside me, echo in the flames dancing in his eyes. Neither of us dared to break the gaze as he made his way back up my legs, his tongue leaving a wet trace over my skin. He took a deep breath when he reached the apex of my thighs.

"You smell absolutely divine, my Bella." He said with a grin. "I will taste you later." He vowed and I whimpered at the delicious promise. "But right now, I need to feel you around my cock."

"Yes..." I moaned. His hands pushed my legs wider apart, spreading me before him. There was no shame or embarrassment inside me. This man was mine and I was his. I drew pleasure from the moan he let out when his eyes finally dropped from my gaze to the core of my body. "Oh, Carlisle… I need you." I whimpered when he made no move to join our bodies. I missed his touch, it had been only seconds since his body laid over mine, but those seconds were too long now.

"And you shall have me." He said as his body came to cover mine again. My purr grew louder as his skin touched me again. When his face came back to mine, his mouth catching my bottom lip and his teeth nibbling it, I felt the vibrations of his chest as well as heard his purrs in my ears.

His mouth left mine and made a path of wet kisses over my jaw to my neck. He found a sensitive spot behind my ear that I wasn't even aware of just how sensitive it was until his tongue licked over it. I threw my head back, mewling, offering him better access to my neck.

I felt him sliding a hand between us and positioning himself between the folds of my sex. I moaned his name again, trying to press myself even closer to him. He joined us in one swift, deep thrust. The sudden pang of pain startled me and my eyes flew open at the same time as my nails dug in his shoulders. He froze above me and I was met with his shocked eyes.

The shock was quickly replaced with deep satisfaction.

"You're mine. _Only_ mine." He murmured, almost to himself.

"Yours." I echoed.

*.*

The pain was long gone and forgotten. There was only the feeling of fullness and a rising sense of impatience. I tried moving beneath him and moaned when the slight movement created the most delicious friction. I wanted more.

Carlisle was all too happy to oblige my unspoken demand. His body began moving, his thick cock stretching me and tightening a new coil deep inside me. My head was thrown back again, my eyes fluttered shut. I was panting and writhing beneath him and I loved every single second of it.

His name was like a litany on my lips. I didn't know why I was so desperate, or what I was desperate _for_.

Carlisle seemed beyond words himself, but his body did the speaking for him. His thrusts became deeper and faster, his mouth was once again on my neck, finding the most sensitive patches of skin and sucking on them. I knew I would have multiple purple marks tomorrow, but I couldn't care less.

I _wanted_ to bear his mark.

His hands held my hips as he rocked between my thighs. Each pass of his body inside mine was an aching pleasure, building a storm in my body like nothing I have ever felt before. My breathing grew even shallower than before. My attention was suddenly centered between my legs, where his body was connected to mine.

I screamed his name and pulled his hair when his fingers brushed the skin just above the place we were connected. It was like having a jolt of pleasure shoot through my spine.

"You like that, my Bella?" He teased me, his breath fanning over my neck.

All I could do was whimper in response.

"I think you do." His tone was breathless, but held a note of satisfaction. He made another pass with his fingers, earning another moan of pleasure and said. "Yes, I think you like that very much."

He lifted his head from my neck and commanded me. "Look at me, Bella. Open your eyes, love."

I obeyed instantly.

My eyes grew wide and I shuddered in pleasure when he took one of my fingers between his lips and began to suck it, caressing the tips of the finger with his tongue. He pulled my finger out and I could see and feel that it was slick with his saliva. He took another finger of mine and gave it the same treatment, all the while, his hips continued to rock between my legs, his thick and hard cock filling me to the brim and I felt that coil tighten a little more.

He took my hand, with the two wet fingers and began sliding it down my body. I looked at him with curiosity in my eyes and then with a momentary shock when he placed my fingers on the same sensitive patch of skin between my legs.

The shock was quickly replaced with pleasure as he began to move my fingers with his. It felt so good.

"Yes, touch yourself, my Bella." He ordered. I couldn't deny him. The sensation of our combined fingers on that place was too pleasurable.

I felt the coil twist and pull and knew that I was on the edge of something wonderful.

"Come for me, my Bella." He ordered through gritted teeth, his fingers moving faster.

A few seconds later, I was thrown over that illusive edge into a world of immense pleasure. I heard Carlisle growl and felt him stiffen, but I was too lost in my own pleasure to pay a lot of attention to him. My body was overcome by spasms and I heard myself mewl. There was a faint pang of pain on my neck that was gone a moment after appearing, replaced with a tingling sensation.

Carlisle was still inside me while the fog of the release was fading. It amazed me to feel that he was hard again so quickly. His head was buried in my neck, his tongue was licking me and he was purring very loudly. As I gained more awareness, I heard myself purring just as loud.

Carlisle pulled himself up on his elbow, his body not leaving mine, and looked down at me with shining blue eyes. I felt myself smile.

There was still an odd tingling sensation on my neck, so I reached with my hand to feel what it was. I sensed a patch of slightly different texture on my skin, but couldn't understand what it was.

"You bear my mark, now." He explained.

"Your _mark_?" I asked, bewildered. What kind of mark was he talking about?

He smiled at me, bringing his hand to my neck, caressing the still tingling skin. "Yes, my mark." He said. "Just as I now carry yours."

My eyes flew to his neck, there, at the place where his neck met his shoulder, was a bite mark. It was already healed, but the scar was distinct. I gasped in shock. "I bit you?" I whispered, my hand reaching over to touch his neck, my thoughts scattering. How did it heal so fast? Why did I bite him? _When_ did I bite him?

But there was also a strange sense of satisfaction in me that this man was now marked as mine.

"Just as I bit you, my love." He answered.

He made a small movement with his body and I suddenly became aware that he was still inside me, still very much hard, and that the small movement had ignited the hunger yet again. "It is perfectly natural to mark your mate, my Bella."

I decided that I would ask him more about it later, but at that moment, my body didn't want answers, my body wanted him. This time it was I who captured his mouth with mine. He didn't need any further encouragement and his body began thrusting inside me.

It was just as good the second time around as it was the first time sans the pain. I was able to concentrate more this time, and hearing the sounds he was making was only added to my own pleasure. I reached my own release three times before he finally collapsed over me.

Panting, but amazingly satisfied, I let him turn us to our side and intertwine our legs together. I had so many questions swimming inside my mind, but I didn't want to spoil the moment so I decided to keep my questions to myself for just a little longer.

"Let me take you home, my Bella." Carlisle whispered several moments later.

I lifted my head from his shoulders and looked into the blue pools of his eyes. "Home?" I asked. Was he tired of me already? Suddenly I felt hurt and on the verge of tears.

"Home, my love." Carlisle said gently. "I'm sure you have many questions, but I think that a shower would be in place." He said. "A shower I would be very happy to share with you." He added in a husky voice.

"Are you coming with me?" I asked, trying not to let the hope show in my tone.

"No," he said and I felt my heart shatter for a moment before I heard the rest of his words, " _You_ are coming with _me_." He chuckled when he saw relief flooding my face. "Did you really think that I would let you go, now that I have found you, my love?"

I had no answers, only more questions, and he seemed to understand.

"Let's get dressed and when we get home, I'll explain everything."

"Okay."

I allowed myself one more deep breath, inhaling his scent, before I let him go and got up.

Our clothes were in a terrible mess. My shirt was in pieces and my panties were nowhere to be seen. I was searching for my pants as he picked up his shirt and handed it to me. It had survived, and I suspected that that was only because it was a button down shirt, which didn't require us to stop kissing in order to takeoff.

I quickly pulled the shirt over. It carried his scent on it, and I found myself breathing deeper just to inhale it. I noticed he was smiling and averted my eyes, embarrassed.

Suddenly, He was in front of me, his arms pulled my body flush against his half-naked form – he had found his slacks and they seemed mostly intact. "Don't be embarrassed." He whispered, his fingers lifting my chin. "Look at me." He asked.

I looked into his eyes; there was a feeling of gentleness in them. "I like the way you smell, too."

I waited for the blush to cover my cheeks, but the warmth never came. "And I _really_ like having my scent all over you." He added in a husky voice.

"I like having your scent all over me as well." I whispered. It came out sounding more like a question, because there was one behind it – why did I like his scent so much?

"You are my mate, my Bella, as I am yours." He said simply, as though it explained everything. "Are you thirsty?" He suddenly asked.

It was a simple question, but I felt as though there was more meaning to it than that of the simple desire for water. "Not really." I answered truthfully. He frowned. "What?"

"It is… unusual for you _not_ to be thirsty." He answered slowly. "Come on, I'll explain everything when we get home."

Carlisle gathered the rest of the tattered clothes, finding that my pants had not survived our lustful encounter either, and gave me his hand. I took it without hesitation and felt an odd sense of wholeness wash over me.

We started walking, with him leading the way, and it wasn't long before we picked up the pace and began running. I had expected the forest to turn into a blur and for me to begin panting, but neither happened. The forest was perfectly clear despite what felt like a very quick run and my lungs didn't protest against the rapid movement of my muscles. I was both curious and pleased to note that running felt no more laboring than walking.

I was so absorbed with the new revelations that I was surprised to find myself suddenly in front of a house. It looked like a country cottage, with the outside walls painted white and the roof dark gray. It was two stories high with a garage attached to the side. The driveway was paved but I could see no highway near it, and there was no sound of cars passing by either. The house was surrounded by large evergreen trees and appeared almost hidden in their shadow.

Carlisle led me up the three stairs to the front porch. It was only then, when I felt the texture of the mat beneath my feet that I realized I was barefoot. How could have I not noticed this while we were running through the forest?

"I will explain everything after the shower, my Bella." Carlisle said, noticing my shocked expression. He turned the key and held the door open for me. I stepped inside the house and felt the smooth texture of the parquet beneath my feet. I was glad to see that there was no carpet on the floor, as I was certain my feet were dirty and would have left ugly prints behind.

I only had enough time to note the wide-open space of the first floor before Carlisle rushed me up the stairs to the second floor and into a bathroom. I took notice that he didn't bother with turning on the lights and that I still saw everything with perfect clarity.

"You can turn on the water while I go get us a change of clothes." Carlisle said before disappearing through the door.

I examined the room around me. It was designed in clean, modern lines. There were two sinks in the middle of the gray countertop and a large mirror above them. Behind me, I found several shelves holding colorful folded towels and a dark blue robe hanging from the side.

There was a large bath in one corner of the room, actually, it was the largest one I had ever seen, and I thought that it must be capable of housing three or even four people comfortably. It looked like it would be perfect for a luxurious bubble bath, but right now I thought a simple shower would be more appropriate.

I turned my eyes to the other side of the room and found a shower with sliding glass doors. It too seemed to be larger than was usual. In fact, when I thought about it, the entire room was big enough to fit both my living room and my bedroom, and there would still be room left.

The room even smelled pleasant, not like detergents and bleach as I might have expected considering the clean state of it, but like sandalwood and chamomile. The scent wasn't overpowering, like a vanilla or cinnamon would have been, instead it was gentle and easy on the senses.

I found a hamper next to the shelves and saw that there were several items of clothing inside it. They smelled strongly like Carlisle and the shirt I was wearing quickly joined them.

I walked inside the shower and slid the glass door close before turning on the water. They weren't as cold as I would have expected them to, be but they were not as warm as I would have liked either. I played with the tap for a while until the water reached the right temperature and stepped under the stream.

I didn't hear Carlisle coming back into the room because of the running water, and didn't see him because my eyes were closed, but as soon as I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist and a body press onto mine from behind, I recognized him. Somehow, during the past few hours, his touch became familiar to me, instantly recognizable.

He kissed my shoulder and neck and I leaned my head to the side to allow him access to as much skin as was possible. The water was running over my breasts and his hands, which were already firmly cupping them. I felt as though he couldn't get enough of my breasts, his fingers refused to leave them even when he stopped kissing me.

I felt his cock pressing against my bottom and the memories of the pleasure he had brought me earlier flashed behind my closed lids. I moaned and pressed myself back at him.

"Let me wash you first, my love. I want to worship your body." Carlisle murmured, his words sent shivers down my back.

"Yes…" I breathed.

He pulled me out of the water stream and I opened my eyes to see him. His body was absolutely marvelous. His chiseled chest ended with firm abs that trailed in an enticing V shape to his erect cock. I had a hard time tearing my gaze away from it, but I the desire to see his eyes was stronger. They were a darker shade of blue now, not cobalt anymore, but almost purple in hue.

"You're beautiful." I blurted out, and once again waited for the warmth to flood my cheeks. It didn't.

"Not as beautiful as you." He replied.

Carlisle reached out to the shelf to take a washing cloth and poured some soap on it. He began washing my body with reverence and the shower was soon filled with the soap's delicate bamboo scent.

His hands were gentle as he lathered my body. He dedicated an amazing amount of time and attention to my breasts and I decided that he was definitely a breasts man. He kneeled before me and lifted my legs up one at a time to wash my feet; they were as dirty as I thought they would be.

Once he was done with my body, he moved on to washing my hair. Had we not made love just an hour ago, I would have said that having Carlisle wash my hair was the most sensual experience I had ever felt. Having known the pleasure he could bring with his body, I had to relegate it to second best.

I let my hands roam over his chest and shoulders while he was washing me, but he wouldn't allow me to venture any further. Every time I tried, he gently pulled my hands away, saying that all I needed to do was relax and enjoy and let _him_ take care of _me_.

Once I was cleaned and washed, I opened my eyes and looked into his purple irises. "My turn." I purred and was awarded with a lazy smile.

"Indeed." Carlisle said and handed over the washcloth.

I took the same amount of care with his body as he did with mine. Washing him felt almost as intimate as making love to him. I had a chance to study every inch of his body and I was completely engrossed in my task.

I returned the favor and washed his hair as well, although he had to bend forward a little for me to reach it, seeing as he had almost a foot over me in height. I heard his purr grow louder as I massaged his scalp. His eyes were closed and his face was perfectly calm and once again, I thought about how beautiful he was. My eyes paused on the bite mark he now sported at the base of his neck and my chest was filled with satisfaction. _This beautiful man is_ mine _._

I was fully aroused by the time I had finished washing him, and a glance down confirmed that he was in a similar state. When I looked back up, his eyes were smoldering.

"I think I had promised to taste you." He purred.

I felt my breathing hitch for a moment before I smiled widely. "I think you did." I said, not really knowing where I found the confidence to be so bold.

He kept his eyes fixed on mine as he knelt down. His hands trailed along the sides of my body until they reached my bottom. When his face was at the same height as my core, he inhaled deeply and I watched his eyes darken until they became a pair of sparkling onyx orbs.

"You smell absolutely delicious." His thick voice was enough to send shivers down my spine, but when his lips made contact with my skin I felt ready to scream.

My hands held his head, my fingers fisting in the wet tresses of his hair when he pushed his mouth to the apex of my thighs and placed one of my legs on his shoulder, spreading me wide for him.

The texture of his tongue on my wet folds was like nothing I had ever felt before. His long licks from my entrance to the bundle of nerves at the top were beginning to drive me crazy. I could hardly believe the wanton sounds that I was making as he literally drank me.

He slid one long digit inside me and then added another, curling them inside me as he continued to lick and suck. I threw my head back in pleasure, bucking my hips forward and pressing his face closer with my hands. It felt so good. Every caress of his tongue, every pass his fingers made inside me was pulling me deeper into the flames of desire. That now-familiar coil was tightening again. This time I knew what was about to come and while I enjoyed the path leading to the peak, I was impatient to reach it.

"That feels… so good…" I panted. His fingers were doing wonders inside me, curling upwards. He was driving me crazy.

"Yes, my Bella." He breathed with a very pleased note in his voice. "Let go, my love. Let me feel you come all over my fingers."

His words were adding fuel to the furnace already burning wildly inside me and with another lick of his tongue, I soared. "Carlisle!" I screamed as my body shattered into a million pieces.

I floated back to earth and found myself looking into Carlisle's beautiful face smiling gently at me. "You look absolutely breathtaking when you're in the thrones of passion." He murmured.

I smiled back at him, feeling blissfully content to be wrapped in his arms. He leaned closer to kiss me and my nipples instantly hardened beneath his chest. As his tongue invaded my mouth, I felt him lifting me and filling me with his cock. I moaned, loving the feeling of being filled to the brim with him.

"You feel so good around my cock." He said in a thick voice between our kisses. "So tight."

His words had an amazing effect on my body. I never thought that hearing my partner talking dirty to me would bring me so much pleasure, but then again – I never had a partner before Carlisle.

It wasn't as slow as the previous times, in the forest. There was a desperate edge to his lovemaking as though he feared there wouldn't be another chance for him to do it. His thrusts were harder and deeper, but I didn't complain. I loved it. As rough as his movements were, his touch was still gentle and he took care not to hurt me.

From the shower we moved to his bedroom, where I had my first experience with fellatio. It felt amazing, the power that I wielded over him. Seeing him falling apart in my mouth was almost as good as feeling the same pleasure myself.

Even after spending hours making love to him, first in the forest, then in the shower and finally in his bed, I wasn't the least bit tired. As I cuddled next to him, my head resting on his chest, the questions were coming back to me and there was nothing to distract me from them this time. Because there was one very important thing that I had only just realized that was missing.

Carlisle had no heartbeat.

As that fact dawned upon me, I looked up at him and at the same time placed my hand over my own heart. Where only yesterday I could feel the pounding of my pulse there was now absolute silence.

I felt my panic rise and Carlisle's arms tightened around me.

"What are we?" I whispered; my voice was barely loud enough for him to hear.

"Vampires." He answered. His eyes were boring into mine and I saw several emotions in the cobalt blue of his irises. It was a mix of fear, determination and so much love that I felt all of my worries dissolve.

"Vampires." I repeated, tasting the word on my tongue. My mind began to race with thoughts, connecting the dots. The sweet scent of the man I saw earlier wasn't something he held, it was his blood. The strength, the better eyesight, the sharpened sense of smell, the lack of a heartbeat… could it really be? _Aren't vampires supposed to be nothing more than myth?_

I gasped when another piece clicked into place, his name. _Forever Dawn._ Carlisle Cullen was the father of one of the main characters in the book. "Carlisle?" I called, "What is your last name?"

"Cullen." He said and I gasped again, sitting up sharply.

" _Forever Dawn_?"

He did the same, holding my hands in his. "The author is someone who I had met several years ago." He began to say, but I cut him off.

"The author is a… vampire too?" I still had trouble saying the word out loud. It sounded so ridiculous.

"Yes." Carlisle confirmed. "I met her about a century ago in a small town in Mississippi."

"Wait," I stopped him again "A _century_ ago?" I was shocked.

"I am three hundred and seventy one years old."

"Three hundred and seventy one…" I mouthed, trying to wrap my mind around the fact. I had suspected that he might be a little older than I was, but not _that_ much older.

"I was turned when I was twenty three years old." He paused, waiting to see how I would react to that bit of information. I nodded for him to continue, twenty-three sounded much better than three hundred and seventy one. "I met that certain vampire a century ago, but I had never expected her to publish a book with my name in it." He said.

I recalled several more facts from the book and was suddenly mortified. "Esme? Edward?" I couldn't bring myself to ask the full question. Had I just slept with a _married_ man?

"No!" Carlisle exclaimed, once again instantly understanding my intention. "I had never been married in my life, my Bella. Nor did I ever turn _anyone_." He paused. "Until I met you."

"Me?" I felt anger rising inside me. How _dare_ he do _this_ to me? What gave him the right to, essentially, kill me?

"Please, love, let me explain."

I pulled my hands away from him and wrapped the sheet around me, suddenly feeling very much exposed. "You better start explaining." I growled.

"When I met you that day, I wasn't the only vampire in the forest." He said. "For some time now, I had suspected that a nomad had invaded my territory, but it was only on that day that I had seen him with my own eyes. He chased you and when he caught up to you he bit you on your wrist." He gestured at my left hand.

I turned my hand palm side up and noticed the faint bite mark for the first time. "I didn't feel…" How could I _not_ feel a bite like that?

"You might have felt nothing but a short pang of pain, but as soon as his venom touched your skin, it had the same effect as a mosquito bite – it relaxed your body and fooled it into not feeling the pain." He explained. "He ran off when he saw me, but I decided to see how you were instead of chasing after him. As soon as I touched your hand, I knew that I could not heal you." He hung his head in shame.

"Heal me?"

"I am a healer."

"You mean a doctor?" I remembered that the fictional Carlisle was a physician.

"No," he said gently, "I have the gift of healing. It is something that the author of the book had omitted from my fictional self. I can heal almost any injury, other than those caused by vampire venom. When I touched your hand, I could do no more than heal the injury in your knee."

My anger evaporated. I remembered him touching my hand and the pleasant feeling of warmth and fuzziness that followed.

"The venom was already spreading through your system by then, but it wasn't changing you, it was slowly killing you."

I looked at him, puzzled.

"The nomad that bit you had injected a very small amount of venom into your blood stream. You would have suffered agonizing pain for several days before you would have gone insane and finally died."

I shuddered.

"The two choices I had were to either kill you to spare you the pain, or bite you and turn you myself. I couldn't bring myself to kill you." His eyes were pleading me to understand. "I knew that you were the other half of my soul, the one that I had spent over three centuries looking for. I couldn't lose you."

I couldn't stand the sadness that was etched into his features and taking place in his eyes. I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him in for a tight hug. "I can't stand seeing you sad." I murmured into his shoulder. "Please tell me what happened next. The last thing I remember from yesterday was meeting you." I asked, still holding him tightly.

"It was four days ago, my love." He corrected.

I pulled away from him, just far enough to be able to look into his face. "Four days?" I was shocked.

"Yes. Once I had realized that I couldn't heal you, I used my gift to lull you into a deep sleep and then bit into your wrist." He took my left hand from around his neck as he spoke. "This mark," he pointed at the scar on my wrist, "is actually mine as well, I didn't want you to have another man's mark on you." He said firmly.

I understood. Just the thought of having another woman's mark on his skin made my anger flare. I took a deep breath and banished the anger from my thoughts. "What did you do then?" I asked.

"I took you back to the motel in Forks, where you already had a room rented. You had a receipt in your pocket." He said, answering my questioning gaze. "The transformation typically takes three days to complete, and it involves an immense amount of pain. During that time, you feel as though you are literally being burned alive." I shivered. "My gift, fortunately, proved useful." He said with satisfaction. "It allowed me to spare you most of the pain."

"I don't remember any pain." I said. "Thank you." I did remember the weird dreams and the odd sensation of feeling very hot, but I had no recollection of pain.

"Don't thank me, my love." He shook his head. "I didn't do such a good job."

"What do you mean?" I frowned.

"Using my gift as intensely as I was, was draining me. Two and a half days into your change, I decided to leave for a quick hunt. I was thinking that I could be back in an hour and that you wouldn't even realize I was gone. You were sleeping soundly at the time. It almost turned out to be a fatal mistake." He shook his head in a mixture of shame and self-loathing.

"Why?" I whispered the question, fear gripping me again.

"I ran into the nomad while I was hunting and that held me up longer than I had planned. Because of that you woke up alone." He still looked ashamed and now his eyes were filled with guilt.

"But I was fine." I protested, hating to see him feeling like that.

"I should have been there when you woke up, to tell you everything." He objected. "By the time I finally made my way back to you, you were already awake and well on your way towards killing an innocent man."

I didn't like thinking about the man outside the motel. I was still having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that I would have killed him if Carlisle hadn't stopped me.

"When I saw you, I had to act quickly." Carlisle continued. "But once I was on top of you, I got… distracted." He smiled sheepishly.

I chuckled. "Distracted? Is that how they call it these days?" I teased him, happy to see the shame, guilt and self-loathing gone.

"You must know that you are utterly irresistible, my love."

I rolled my eyes. "What happened to the nomad?"

"He's dead. You don't need to worry about him anymore."

"How?" I asked out of morbid curiosity.

Carlisle sighed before answering me. "The only way to kill a vampire is to tear it apart and burn down the pieces."

"So she got that one right." I mumbled under my breath and he nodded. "But I see that she was wrong about the eyes…" I trailed off. The vampires in _Forever Dawn_ had either yellow or red eyes; there was no mention of blue.

"She wasn't wrong. She just chose to change the facts to suit her story." Carlisle shrugged. "Our eyes do not change in the transformation from human to vampire. The only change is that they darken when we are thirsty… or lustful."

"Yes. I have noticed that one myself." I smiled. Another question came to my mind then. "Carlisle, you mentioned hunting. What do we hunt?" I looked at him nervously.

"Animals." He said and I sighed in relief. I wasn't ready to accept becoming a murderer. "There _are_ those who stick to the traditional way of feeding, true, but I chose otherwise a long time ago." He said. "The history of the fictional Carlisle is very similar to my own, other than the fact that I did not become a doctor."

"Can I ask why?"

"Of course you can, and you would not be the first one to question why I deny myself." He smiled gently at me, understanding exactly what I was asking. "I'll give you the same answer I gave the author a long time ago – I don't want to be a monster."

I smiled at his words. I remembered that they were used in the book as well.

"As you have experienced yourself, human blood is very tempting, but it isn't necessary to our survival. As long as I have a choice, I _choose_ not to be a murderer."

I leaned into his body once again, allowing the sheet to fall from between us. The grim subject had spoiled my mood. I needed to feel Carlisle's touch again, to be comforted by him.

A moment later, I heard him begin to purr. "Why do we purr?" I had wanted to ask that question before, but at the time, I was a little preoccupied.

"It's a sign of contentment." He answered, continuing to purr. Apparently, speaking and purring at the same time was not a problem. "We only purr for our mates." He smiled down at me, his purr growing slightly louder.

"Mates as in soul-mates?"

"Yes." He appeared to be contemplating something so I remained silent until he continued. "In human terms, a mate would be the equivalent of a spouse, but it wouldn't be a valid comparison."

"Why not?"

"While humans get married and divorced all the time, vampires mate for life. Once you find your mate, there will be no one else in the world that you would feel so complete with."

I understood without any further explanation. How could I not? I had felt that sense of wholeness every time I touched him. Thinking back to our first meeting, I realized that there was something inside me – something very basic – that recognized him as my own from the start. I nuzzled into his neck, felling my own purr vibrating in my chest.

I inhaled his scent and planted a small kiss over my bite mark. I purred louder, my thoughts turning lustful again. Following this new line of thought, my hand trailed down his body. He was instantly hard between my fingers, ready for me.

"As much as I would love to devour you once more, my love," Carlisle's voice was a little thicker than normal as he spoke. I loved knowing that I had the same effect on him as he did on me. "I think we should hunt first."

I quickly removed my fingers – that were already wrapped around his shaft and pumping it – and buried my face in his chest, thoroughly embarrassed. We had spent the better part of our time together making love. _How could I still want more?_

Carlisle laughed. It was a rich laughter, coming from deep inside his chest. "There's no need to be embarrassed, my love. As vampires we are very sexual creatures, and we never get tired…" He trailed off, teasing.

That _did_ have a certain charm to it. "Never get tired, huh?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Never." He confirmed, but before I could take him up on his offer he said, "But we _do_ get thirsty, and I would like to get you fed." And then his eyes were dark again, holding promises of great pleasure. "So that I could spend the next few days with you right here in this bed."

I felt my own lust rise again. "Just in the bed?" I asked in a playful tone, trying to avoid jumping his bones at that very moment.

"Well, there _are_ a few more surfaces around the house that still need christening… I think I would be willing to compromise." He teased me right back. "Now get out of bed and let's go hunting, before I drag you outside the way you are right now."

I laughed at his banter.

We would have forever together. There would be time for anything and everything that we might want to do. I looked into the sparkling blue eyes of my love and thought that taking the turn off the road on that day was the best decision I had made in my entire life.

After all, it had led me to Carlisle.

* * *

**"Forever Dawn" in this story depicts the events of the first book in the Twilight saga.**

**The story was inspired by the video clip for "River Flows In You [Remix]". The remix isn't all that impressive, but the story they chose to go with sparked my imagination.**

**Thank you for reading!**

**Alley Cat.**


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